Anne Boleyn

1. Anne Boleyn How far did she Influence Henry VIII’s Religious Policies from 1527 to her death in 1536? HRSFC Student Presentation 2003

2. The Divorce • Henry had been married to Catherine of Aragon since 1509… • …but she had not given him the son he so wanted. • Henry decided to divorce Catherine in favour of a new wife claiming that the marriage had been illegitimate. • It was forbidden in the Bible to marry your brother’s widow. • But where did Anne Boleyn fit into this?

3. Anne’s Role • Some historians (such as Eric Ives) suggest that the relationship between Anne and Henry only became serious after the decision to divorce Catherine. • However others (eg. J.J. Scarisbrick and David Starkey) believe that it was passion for Anne that triggered Henry’s desire for divorce. • It was “cause and effect.” • Anne is compared by Starkey to Lady Macbeth.

4. Anne and Religious Writings • Anne had a strong religious background and regularly read the works of those critical of the Church. • Sometimes she showed these to Henry… • Simon Fish – “A Supplication for Beggars” • William Tyndale – “Obedience” • Anne even marked the passages that she thought Henry ought to read in particular. • He later declared: “This book is for me and all Kings to read”

5. Anne and Wolsey • Wolsey was the power behind Henry’s religious policy on the divorce • Was she responsible for his downfall? • Retha Warnicke: “unreasonable” • “Ascribes too much political power to Anne” • Maria Dowling: “Anne was determined to remove Wolsey from his position of supreme power under the King.”

6. Anne and Cromwell • Thomas Cromwell replaced Wolsey as Henry’s chief ministers and so was the power behind many religious policies. • Eric Ives describes how Anne was an “an effective influence on Cromwell” and that she viewed him as “her man.” • However Warnicke claims that the two “did not form a political faction” and that they functioned independently of each other.

7. Anne and Patronage • Anne gained a reputation for patronising reformist members of the clergy. • A list exists of bishops that Anne “appointed” which includes Thomas Cranmer who became Archbishop. • It was Cranmer who kick-started the Reformation. • Ives: “the most striking evidence of Anne Boleyn’s influence within the Church.” • “Appointments” are disputed by other historians. • “Exaggerates greatly her influence in religious matters.”

8. Conclusion… • “Anne Boleyn was not a catalyst in the English Reformation; she was an element in the equation.” • “Brief though Anne’s influence was, it was a thousand days of support for reform from the throne itself.”